As the buzz
around social media continues to get louder, companies are becoming more
desperate to cash in. They’re stumbling blindly into blogging,
microblogging, building new platforms and creating profiles on every
social media site they can point their mouse at. The mission is to
quickly scoop up backlinks, to attract new eyeballs and to collect
instant search engine rankings. However, when companies launch into
social media unprepared the only thing they really earn themselves is a
bad reputation as a social media spammer.

The mistakes made by companies in social media
shouldn’t be taken lightly. The way you present yourself in the new
social Web will affect your company’s overall reputation and your
ability to connect with users and potential customers in the future. So
what are the most common mistakes companies make when they try to jump
in at the deep end of the pool?

Though
your Web site may not rank at the top of the search engine results yet,
someone’s does. The search engines find those top-ranking Web pages to
be the most relevant for your keywords, so those sites are, in turn,
your online competitors. As with any type of competition, it helps to
know who you’re up against. This article lays out a list of things you
can do to size up an opponent by reviewing their site and source code.

On September 1, while those of us in the States were celebrating Labor Day, Philipp Lenssen broke the news about a rumored open source browser from Google.
The browser was said to be named "Chrome" and was leaked when Google
sent out its informational Chrome comic book earlier than anticipated.
Some botched planning meant the cat was officially out of the bag.

Despite it being a holiday, word spread like a wildfire
throughout the blogosphere. Eric Lander was among the first to react,
diving into Philipp's post at Search Engine Journal and questioning if the browser was real. Meanwhile, TechCrunch was busy posting some of our first glimpses of the new browser, while the rest of the Internet continued to wait for Google Chrome to launch and wondered if it was all just a rumor.

It's Official: Meet Chrome

Just hours after Philipp's original blog post, the search
marketing industry received their answer: Chrome was real and, more
importantly, it was on its way.

Monday afternoon Google updated the Official Google Blog and introduced us to Chrome, their fresh take on the browser that would launch on Sept. 2. Googler Matt Cutts liveblogged
Chrome's big reveal the following day. We learned that Google was built
on WebKit and that it hailed impressive new features like dynamic tabs,
an incognito mode, and an Omnibox that combined a browser's address bar
and search box. Google stated they believed that Chrome would add value
for users and help drive innovation in the browser race.

According to Google, Chrome was birthed to make Web
browsing more productive, secure, faster and more stable. Search Engine
Land took a deeper look at what Chrome has to offer in 10 Key Features That Differentiate Google's Chrome From Firefox & IE.

Can Chrome Compete?

Not surprisingly, there were lots of questions and expectations for Chrome right out of the gate. GigaOm called it "nice, but not a 'killer' browser", Search Engine Land asked how bright is the outlook for Chrome, the folks at DigitalPoint asked if Chrome could kill IE, and Search Engine Roundtable asked Can Google Win The Browser Wars with Google Chrome?

From there, Walt Mossberg wrote an in-depth Chrome review over at AllThingsD and CNET was there to pick apart Chrome's terms of service.

At Search Engine Journal, Ann Smarty encouraged search marketers to learn how to optimize for Google Chrome,
taking a look at the SEO impacts of Chrome's tab system, how it handles
error pages, and how Google Suggest will alter how users search. Bruce
Clay Analyst Michael Terry added his thoughts during last week's SEM Synergy
show, talking about the uniqueness of Chrome's task manager, its speed,
and how it can also be used as a basic keyword density tool.

Early reviews have found that Chrome does a lot of things
right but that it won't be a true competitor until it is able to give
users some of the creature comforts they've grown accustomed to - like
support for FireFox plug-ins. It may be too early to know what impact
Chrome will inevitably have on users' browsing habits, but one thing's
for sure, we're all watching.

Programming Note: The SEO Newsletter
continues its monthly publishing schedule and will be published on or
near the 15th of each month. Adopting the monthly publishing date allows
us to maintain the integrity and authority of the newsletter, while
accommodating heavier travel schedules and increasing internal demands.
You'll still receive the same great SEO news and educational articles,
just in a thicker, more comprehensive format.

During the past month the industry has seen Joanne Bradford leave Spot Runner for Yahoo, Pat Sexton join the team at We Build Pages, Lisa Utzschneider leave Microsoft, and Yahoos Steve Boom and Todd Teresi both resign.

In mergers, acquisitions and launches:

Google released a new Picasa interface, bought Korean blog company TNC, teamed with NBC for a TV advertising deal, launched a new 404 widget to help site owners create custom 404 pages, opened up Ad Manager and sent Google Suggest mainstream.

Yahoo updated the linkage data reports in Yahoo Site Explorer and opened up Yahoo Buzz to the general public.

Microsoft released Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2, improved its Live Search Local Listings Center, and acquired the market research firm Greenfield.

If you like what you read in the SEO Newsletter, there's
more Internet marketing expertise where that came from. Check out SEM
Synergy every Wednesday at 3:00 pm Eastern and Noon Pacific on WebmasterRadio.fm.
Bruce Clay and the other hosts discuss industry news, SEO tactics and
marketing trends, while expert guests share their insights on methods,
best practices and upcoming events. Check out the show schedule below
for a look at recent shows and upcoming topics.

It's time to get your pirate accents in order because this Friday, September 19, is Talk Like a Pirate Day. Once we're done walkin' the plank, BlogWorldExpo will land in the Las Vegas Convention Center on September 19-21 and The PPC Summit will be held in Los Angeles on September 25-26.

The folks behind FreshEgg will be offering an SEO Workshop in Brighton, UK on October 3. Shortly after will be SMX East in New York City on October 6-8, which boasts an impressive list of keyword speakers.

If you're going to SMX East, be sure to stick around for SEOToolSet training on the East Coast
happening on October 9-10. Registration is open for both SMX and Bruce
Clay's East Coast SMX training on the SMX Web site. Use the code
smx20bci for a 20 percent discount on both SMX passes and SEO Training.

Later in the month, ScarySEO
will take over Florida on October 24-25. If you're attending ScarySEO,
make sure to track down Bruce Clay's Director of Eastern Region
Operations, Chris Hart, who will be speaking on the SEO Project Management and Educating Clients panel with John Carcutt and Pamela Lund.

Programming Note: Dates for 2009 UK SEO Training are still being worked out. Keep your eyes on the Bruce Clay, Inc. blog and SEO Newsletter for details.

Google continues giving back to the community with its investment in O3b Network and recent launch of lobby Web site FreeTheAirwaves. Both ventures aim to help bring high-speed, low cost Internet to those in remote areas.

Google was voted the most satisfying company in America, while Google Maps received credit for helping Olympic Gold Medalist Kristin Armstrong train and eventually win her 15 mile cycling race in Beijing.

Twitter received props from ReadWriteWeb (and the rest of the Internet) for significantly increasing their reliability. No more fail whale here.

Happy Birthday to Google! The search engine celebrated its 10th birthday this month.

The Wall Street Journal hinted that Verizon and Google may be close to signing a new mobile deal, while over at Search Engine Land Barry Schwartz sees that Google may be looking to add blog results instead of Google Sitelinks.

Meanwhile, over at SEO Book, Aaron Wall wonders who will buy Ask.com and Jeremy Schoemaker says Best of the Web is in talks to buy DMOZ.

If you
have any questions or
comments on any of the
articles above or if
you would like to
suggest topics for
future search engine optimization articles, please
contact us at Bruce Clay,
Inc.

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